Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of Annihilated.. to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
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Table of Contents
What is Annihilated
Annihilated is a dark fantasy visual novel with a deck battling roguelike built around it. It does deal with a few dark topics like death and demons, so this is your content warning. There is a demo available that you should definitely try, but honestly, Annihilated should already be in your library.
Hook
The world crumbles under the weight of the Demon King’s merciless grasp. His forces spread his despair across the planet, and there is no one left on the surface who can keep them back. You an your party enter the depths of the dungeon in search of any magical item to help turn the tides. But this venture proves too difficult. You watch as the last of your party dies in front of you. You are forced to travel the cave alone, but just as the despair begins to set in, you stumble across the hero’s party. Or what’s left of them.
The hero’s party was a legendary group that was destined to save the world, but here they sit in the depths, broken. Each of the members of the hero’s party has a strange affliction.
- The Hero has lost his voice
- The Mage has lost her magic
- The Warrior has lost his powerful body
- The Priest has lost her faith?
If you want to get out alive, you must only choose one of the members to take with you. Each has its unique set of stregth and weaknesses, and each choice you make from here on will affect the ending. What will you uncover? Where will your story end? can you make it out and save the world, or will you get lost in the darkness?
Gameplay
Annihilated is a unique visual novel with a deckbuilding roguelike rpg built around it. The story does offer players choices throughout the journey that affect the story, so choose carefully (although the game is generous enough with the saves). The dungeon delve is your standard roguelike format. Players will chose from a collection of nodes as they make their way through each leg of the dungeon. Each node has a unique encounter such as combat, harder combat, random encounter, a shop, and a spot to heal. All of this builds up to a boss fight.
What makes Annihilated unique is that players can buy upgrades at death. Players can buy stat points as well as passive abilities to help them in their next delve.
Combat
Combat in this game is basic. To perform an action, players choose from a collection of cards they pick up throughout the dungeon. To actually cast the ability, players have to stop the sliding meter at the perfect spot. It isn’t too complicated, and it makes the game a bit more engaging.
It is important to note that weapons and items you add to your deck can break, and breaking is a good thing. Breaking will kill your enemies faster, but you also lose access to the weapon in the future. It is important to know when to use and break weapons if you want to make it through the dungeon (and collect all the endings). As you travel, you will also pick up upgrades for these items. You can make it easier to crit or easier to hit for example. What makes the game unique is that it gives players the option to keep cards you like at the end of each run instead of having them start over. It makes the game feel less repetitive, but I am mostly in it for the story.
Does it work on the Steam Deck?
This game is fantastic on the Steam Deck! It doesn’t take too much memory, which is awesome because I have one. I know I can easily upgrade the memory, but I don’t have the money to do that. For now, I’ll just keep shuffling around the games I want to play. As for the game itself, it runs great. It is mostly a visual novel, so that shouldn’t be a surprised. I like that the game doesn’t make the fan go crazy, nor does it kill the battery. What I like is that the font is easy to read. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to read text on the Steam Deck, and there are a few games that I can’t read without the magnifying glass. I had no issues with Annihilated, and I appreciate any game that gives me an excuse to whip it out. If you are looking for a good book to read on the Steam Deck, go get Annihilated.
Review
Annihilated is a fantastic story that you should be reading. It is a little dark, but I wouldn’t call it horrifying. It isn’t Berserk. The game has a fun and fitting artstyle, with memorable characters and a story that I simply couldn’t put down. The gameplay is simple, but it was fun enough for me to not mind it. This game is a unique and much needed twist to the genre. I did my first run, and I am ready to finish the rest.
Aesthetic
What drew me first to the game is the art. I’ve you’ve been with me long, you know I have a soft spot for pixel art, and Annihilated hits that sweet spot with its art. The monsters are memorable and recognizable, and the characters look very good. I am a huge fan of the mage character, but everything looks real good. I like the rough cartoon style that is adorable without distracting from the story’s dark undertones. Mostly, I like the cute mage girl that was the whole reason I chose to review the game, but the story and gameplay were the reason I stayed.
The style reminds me of games like Nobody Nowhere and Afterlove Ep, which have been some of my favorite visual novels to date. Just be prepared to be a little sad when you play through them. Nobody Nowhere is a replicant (a blank vessil used to hold human consciousness) who gains consciousness. His creators plan to rip his consciousness out of his body, but there are still people left on this planet who consider him human enough to save. Afterlove Ep is about a musician who processes grief through his musical journey. Definitely worth reading after you get through Annihilated.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fine. I do like the action rpg style of combat. It reminds me of the combat in Sea of Stars, and I freaking loved that game. You can turn off this style of combat if you prefer a more traditional turn-based style combat, but I suggest you try it for your first play through. I feel like it makes the game more engaging. What I like most is the unique twist the Annihilated brings to the card battlers.
I play a lot of these games, and they do start to blend together after a while. Annihilated stands out because it has that cool durability mechanic that made me slow down and think about my choices. Constantly having to choose which weapons and items to use, break, and upgrade made the delve engaging enough that I didn’t mind the grind or repetition. If you like deck builders, it isn’t the deepest or most impressive, but its good enough to get you to the end of the story. The story is the real reason you play this game.
Story
I may have came to this game for the cute mage girl I was going to guide out of the dungeon, but I stayed because the story is really good. It is the right amount of dark without being needlessly disturbing, and it exists in a world I wanted to explore. The characters are well written, and the translation is solid. Sometimes with these games, I find the translations to be a little awkward, but I didn’t notice anything worth mentioning. This is a solid story that was hard to put down, and now I must find time to read the rest of the paths. Make sure you save often.
Conclusion
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I loved Annihilated. It is the story I didn’t know I needed, and one that I will recommend to everyone moving forward. It has cool art, solid gameplay, and a story that is worth the full price of admission. If you enjoy visual novels and don’t mind a little roguelike in between, you can’t go wrong with Annihilated. You can pick up the full version on Steam, but at the very least, check out the demo. If you’re looking for something with a lighter tone and beautiful art (especially if my previous recomendations make you sad) check out Harmony: The Fall of Reverie.